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Athletic shoes are the kind of footwear you should go for whenever you plan on performing an activity usually requiring a higher amount of energy. Regardless of your hobbies, be they dance, biking or different types of sports, you should always choose the most appropriate types of athletic shoes.

Here are several types of athletic shoes to choose from, depending on your favorite activities!

Types of Athletic Shoes: Ballet & Dance Shoes

If you took ballet classes as a child or have made a career out of this amazing activity, then you must be familiar with ballet shoes. Still, if you're just beginning to test the ballet world, you might want to know a bit more about ballet shoes.

These shoes can be divided into regular, soft ballet shoes and pointe shoes. The first type of athletic shoes is lightweight and made of fabrics like satin, canvas or soft leather. Also, it has a flexible sole to allow for a vast array of ballet dancing moves.

As for pointe shoes, they are used when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes are intricate footwear made of a box placed at the front end of the shoes that provides toe support and of a shank, a piece of hard material that stiffens the sole.

The outer part of the pointe shoes is covered in satin or other fabric.

Other types of athletic shoes, designed for other kind of dances, include dance sneakers, tap dance shoes, jazz shoes, ballroom dance shoes.

Types of Athletic Shoes: Bicycle Shoes

Bicycle shoes can be any kind of footwear in which you feel comfortable performing this kind of exercise. Still, if you're a passionate biker or if you're into performance cycling, then you might want to invest into specific athletic shoes.

There's a vast array of bicycle shoes to choose from, depending on the kind of cycling you go for. You should know that there are mountain biking, road racing, casual cycling, touring, track racing, winter and indoor cycling shoes.

The most common are the road athletic shoes. Their main characteristic is the stiff sole that makes them perfect choices for biking, but not for walking. Top quality road bicycle shoes are lightweight, provide a good ventilation, are rigid and durable.

Types of Athletic Shoes: Tennis Shoes

Tennis shoes are a type of sneakers designed to suit the needs of tennis players, regardless of the kind of surface they play on - hard or soft court. More often than not, tennis shoes have a wide rubber sole that allows for an increased speed and stability when performing lateral moves.

A tennis player will go for different types of athletic shoes depending on the kind of court he or she has to play on. On a hard court, the most appropriate tennis shoes are highly durable and the upper and outsole materials are usually vinyl or leather.

As for tennis shoes for soft court, they are designed to prevent damaging the surface, as well as to provide flexibility and speed to the player. Their soles prevent clay from clogging and don't allow slipping on grass courts.

Also, top quality tennis shoes have extra material at the toe to prevent wearing out the toe of the footwear.

Types of Athletic Shoes: Walking Shoes

But what about athletic shoes designed for taking long walks? Walking shoes are meant to provide comfortable strolling and have several characteristics.

First of all, a pair of good walking shoes should fit you perfectly. But what does that mean? It means that they shouldn't be tight, they should allow enough room for you to move your toes comfortably, but without being loose. Also, a great pair of walking shoes should be lightweight and flexible and have good shock absorption properties.

You should also keep in mind that high quality walking shoes bend under the ball of the foot and that they accommodate the needs of your type of foot (high arch, normal arch or low arch).

Last but not least, walking shoes can be separated into several types of athletic shoes: casual, cross trainer, trail runner and road runner.